George Russell was fastest during third practice in Melbourne. Image: XPB Images
George Russell romped to the fastest time in final practice for the Australian Grand Prix with a 1m19.053s, finishing six tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc was third after leading much of the session, ahead of FP2 pace-setter Oscar Piastri, who was more than a second adrift of Russell’s benchmark.
Isack Hadjar was fifth for Red Bull, beating teammate Max Verstappen, while Kimi Antonelli finished seventh despite bringing out a late red flag after crashing heavily at Turn 2.
Lando Norris was eighth for McLaren ahead of Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Haas rookie Oliver Bearman, who rounded out the top 10.
Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix begins at 4pm AEDT.
Pos.
No.
Driver
Team
Time / Gap
Laps
1
63
George Russell
Mercedes
1:19.053
23
2
44
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
+0.616s
22
3
16
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+0.774s
20
4
81
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
+1.034s
17
5
6
Isack Hadjar
Red Bull Racing
+1.084s
15
6
3
Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
+1.144s
15
7
12
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
+1.271s
18
8
1
Lando Norris
McLaren
+1.390s
22
9
5
Gabriel Bortoleto
Audi
+1.406s
19
10
87
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
+1.725s
18
11
41
Arvid Lindblad
Racing Bulls
+1.785s
15
12
30
Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
+1.837s
13
13
31
Esteban Ocon
Haas F1 Team
+1.930s
19
14
27
Nico Hulkenberg
Audi
+2.014s
22
15
10
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
+2.018s
26
16
43
Franco Colapinto
Alpine
+2.360s
22
17
23
Alexander Albon
Williams
+2.611s
17
18
14
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
+3.667s
20
19
77
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac
+4.461s
12
20
11
Sergio Perez
Cadillac
+5.344s
21
21
55
Carlos Sainz
Williams
1
